With the Olympics taking center stage on NBC and NBCSN, USA Network will step in to air NASCAR coverage in August.
USA Network will air the August 7 NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Watkins Glen (NY), its first NASCAR telecast since the 1980s, as well as Xfinity Series races from Mid-Ohio on August 13 and Bristol on August 19. The moves are necessitated by coverage of the Summer Olympics on NBC and NBCSN, which runs from August 5 to August 21.
After largely eliminating sports from its schedule, USA Network has in recent years become an overflow network for NBC Sports. It began airing NHL playoff games in 2014 and English Premier League matches in August.
In addition to the races on USA Network, the August 6 Xfinity race from Watkins Glen will air on CNBC. Overall, NBC and NBCSN will go from July 31 (Pocono) to August 20 (Bristol) without airing a NASCAR race.
Other changes to this year’s NASCAR TV schedule include an earlier start for the season finale from Homestead (2:30 PM ET rather than 3 PM). Last year’s race, which was delayed due to rain, ended up preempting most of NBC’s Football Night in America NFL pregame show. NASCAR has also begun to address its Saturday night ratings problem, moving the April Richmond race to Sunday from Saturday night.
(Tue. news from NBC Sports Group Press Box, NASCAR.com)
